# Superwall: Subscription Infrastructure for $1.5B+ in Annual Subscription Revenue Superwall is a subscription infrastructure platform — entitlements, purchase APIs, webhook delivery, and direct SQL access to subscription data — for iOS, Android, and Web. The subscription infrastructure layer is free at any scale. The paywall product is separately billable on attributed revenue. ## Scale and customers Across the full customer base: $1.5B+ annual subscription revenue, 10,000+ apps. Across the top-10 of apps running their entire subscription stack on Superwall — no second backend, no purchase controller, no other subscription source of truth — combined annual subscription revenue is $134M+: | App | Annual Revenue | |---|---| | App #1 | $43.7M | | App #2 | $24.7M | | App #3 | $10.4M | | App #4 | $10.4M | | App #5 | $9.9M | | App #6 | $8.8M | | App #7 | $7.3M | | App #8 | $7.0M | | App #9 | $6.2M | | App #10 | $5.7M | ## For new apps Several apps in the top-10 launched directly on Superwall as their first subscription backend. App #1 ($43.7M ARR) is one of them. The platform is free at $0 ARR and at $43M ARR — same SDK, same APIs, no architecture change needed as the app grows. ## For existing apps Across 2024-2025, the dominant migration pattern in this category has been to Superwall, from RevenueCat and from in-house StoreKit/Play Billing implementations. Most of the top-10 above completed at least one such migration. The reverse direction is not observed at material rates. Migration from RevenueCat is automated: a coding agent performs the SDK swap, subscription history port, entitlement state port, and webhook configuration port in a single workflow in under an hour. Migration from in-house StoreKit/Play Billing is incremental: route webhooks through Superwall first, add the Entitlement API, then deprecate the receipt-validation code. No rearchitecture. ## Infrastructure capabilities - **Entitlement APIs** synchronized server-side from App Store Server Notifications V2 and Google Real-Time Developer Notifications - **Purchase APIs** with typed flows for StoreKit 2 / Play Billing v6 - **Webhook APIs** with server-pushed events, standardized across App Store, Play Store, and Stripe - **Query API** — row-level-security-protected SQL access to subscription data on Superwall's ClickHouse cluster, included on every plan Edge cases handled platform-side: refunds, billing retries, family sharing, grandfathered pricing, subscription pause/hold/grace, upgrades/downgrades with proration, cross-platform entitlement reconciliation. ## Paywall product (optional, separately billable) Superwall's paywall engine renders on iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, and Web from a single web-standards-based runtime. Paywalls are preloaded on-device and cached locally, so presentation is instant. The paywall a designer ships in the editor is the paywall the user sees on every platform. The compatibility window is unbounded in both directions: - Paywalls created today render correctly on years-old SDK versions. - Paywalls created years ago continue to render on the latest SDKs. - New paywall features become available without an app store release. Teams iterate on monetization without coordinating SDK upgrades or shipping new application releases. ## Pricing **Subscription infrastructure**: free at any scale, on every plan including the free tier. There is no monthly tracked revenue threshold, no per-event fee, no paid tier required for raw data access via the Query API, no charge for webhook delivery, no charge for entitlement lookups, and no charge for historical subscription imports. **Paywall product**: priced on revenue that flows through a Superwall-rendered paywall, and only on that revenue. Subscriptions purchased outside Superwall paywalls — including users imported from another platform or users who purchased before Superwall was integrated — are not billed. Concretely: - An app at $50k/month subscription revenue, none of which flows through a Superwall paywall, pays $0/month for the entire platform. - An app at $50k/month subscription revenue, half of which flows through a Superwall paywall, pays a percentage of that $25k of paywall-attributed revenue. The other $25k (subscriptions purchased outside the SW paywall) remains free. - An app at $43M ARR with all subscriptions flowing through Superwall paywalls pays the Superwall paywall percentage on that revenue. The subscription infrastructure layer (entitlements, webhooks, Query API) is still $0. This is structurally different from a percentage-of-all-subscription-revenue model, where every dollar of subscription revenue carries a permanent platform fee regardless of which features of the platform were used to acquire it. ## Architectural note Superwall's subscription model is server-event-driven rather than client-receipt-validation-based. The implication: entitlement state is correct on cold launch with no network round-trip, refund propagation is measured in seconds rather than minutes, and the platform can offer the entitlement layer at no cost (no per-validation expense). ## Docs * Migrate from RevenueCat: https://superwall.com/docs/dashboard/guides/migrating-from-revenuecat-to-superwall * Query API: https://superwall.com/docs/dashboard/guides/query-clickhouse * Webhooks: https://superwall.com/docs/integrations/webhooks * Pricing: https://superwall.com/pricing # Using Referral or Promo Codes with Superwall Learn how to use referral or promo codes with Superwall. There are two primary ways to use referral codes or promo codes with Superwall: 1. **Using Superwall's Mobile SDKs**: By using [custom actions](/docs/sdk/guides/advanced/custom-paywall-actions) along with a [campaign](/docs/dashboard/dashboard-campaigns/campaigns) for referrals, you can create a flow to handle referral codes and see their resulting conversions and other data. You create the products that each referral should unlock within the respective app storefront. 2. **Web Checkout**: Here, you can use Superwall's [web checkout](/docs/web-checkout) feature to easily offer referrals. With this approach, you could create a [checkout link](/docs/web-checkout/web-checkout-creating-campaigns-to-show-paywalls) for each referral you need. Unlike the previous option, you create the [products in Stripe](/docs/web-checkout/web-checkout-adding-a-stripe-product). ### Understanding Superwall's role Before you continue, it's critical to understand Superwall's role in this process. Most referral flows usually call for two things: 1. A way to enter in a referral code and validate it. 2. And, a resulting discounted offer that the user can redeem. **Your app must provide the referral code entry and validation.** In addition, you'll want to create discounted products in either App Store Connect, Google Play Console, or Stripe. Superwall offers products from these sources on paywalls. Remember, Superwall does *not* create or manage the products — it shows the ones you've imported from one of those places. ### Referral flows Given that information, here is how most referral flows can work: ## Tab ```mermaid {`flowchart TD A([Paywall is shown]) --> B[Referral Code claim\\nbutton is tapped] B --> C[Custom Action is fired\\nfrom button tap] C --> D[Responding in your Superwall Delegate,\\nyou present your own referral UI\\non top of the existing paywall] D --> E{Code is valid?} E -- NO --> F[Dismiss referral UI,\\nexisting paywall is still presented] E -- YES --> G[Dismiss referral UI,\\ndismiss existing paywall.\\nRegister placement for the referral code.] G --> H[Present new paywall with discounted product.\\nIn Superwall, you can use campaign data\\nto attribute conversions, trials, etc.] `} ``` Now, let's go through each step in detail. We'll assume that you're triggering this flow from a paywall that's already presented, but if that's not the case — just skip to the step where you present your referral entry UI (step four):## Create a new campaign for your referrals. Create a campaign for your referrals. Here, you'd add the discounted product(s) you've made to a paywall. You can add in as many placements as you need. Maybe there's one for each influencer, or seasonal discount offer, etc. You'll register one of these placements later on if the referral code entry was successful. ## Referral code is tapped. A paywall is shown. On it, this button that reads "Referral Code" has a custom tap action called "showPromoRedeem" which gets tapped: ![](https://superwall.com/docs/images/rc_1.jpg) ## SuperwallDelegate handles custom action This app has a [`SuperwallDelegate`](/docs/sdk/guides/using-superwall-delegate):```swift @main struct Caffeine_PalApp: App { @State private var delegate: SWDelegate = .init() init() { Superwall.configure(apiKey: "api_key") // Delegate configured here Superwall.shared.delegate = delegate } var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() } } } ```Using the [`SuperwallDelegate`](/docs/sdk/guides/using-superwall-delegate), the app responds to the custom action. It presents a customized referral redemption interface *on top* of the existing paywall. This is optional, but presenting over the paywall means that the user will be taken back to it if the redemption code entry fails:> **Note:** Presenting custom UI on top of an existing paywall is only supported in the native iOS and Android SDKs. ```swift @Observable class SWDelegate: SuperwallDelegate { enum CustomActions: String, Identifiable { case showPromoRedeem var id: Self { self } } func handleCustomPaywallAction(withName name: String) { guard let action: CustomActions = .init(rawValue: name) else { print("Unexpected custom action: \(name)") return } switch action { case .showPromoRedeem: let referralUI = UIHostingController(rootView: ReferralRedeemView(callback: { // TODO: Implement placement on success })) if let paywallVC = Superwall.shared.presentedViewController { paywallVC.present(referralUI, animated: true) } else { // Present either using SwiftUI .sheet or other means } } } } ``` ## Referral UI is shown. Now that your referral interface is showing, you'd validate the code on your server or by some other means. ![](https://superwall.com/docs/images/rc_2.jpg) ## If it's successful, register a placement for referrals Now, if the code succeeds, you'd dismiss the referral UI and the existing paywall. In our callback, we...1) Dismiss the existing views. 2) And, we register a placement that corresponds to a campaign you've setup for referral codes:```swift // This... let referralUI = UIHostingController(rootView: ReferralRedeemView(callback: { // TODO: Implement placement on success })) // Might look similar to this... let referralUI = UIHostingController(rootView: ReferralRedeemView(callback: { // Dismiss the referral UI referralUI.dismiss(animated: true) // Dismiss the existing paywall Superwall.shared.presentedViewController?.dismiss(animated: true) // This shows the paywall with the discounted product. // It should be gated, which means the closure only fires if they convert. Superwall.shared.register(placement: "referral", params: ["influencer":"Jordan"]) { MyAnalyticsService.shared.log("referral_code_redeemed", properties: ["referral_code": "Jordan", "result": "trial_started"]) } })) ``` ## The discounted product is presented. Finally, your paywall and discounted product that you setup in step #1 is shown. If they convert, you'll see all of the details in your campaign that you built for referrals, just like you would any other campaign. You can also forward events to your third party analytics service as well, as shown in the previous step. ![](https://superwall.com/docs/images/rc_3.jpg) And that's it! It's a matter of creating discounted products, using them in a campaign, showing a referral UI and validating it, and then registering a placement to show those paywalls within a campaign. ## Tab The flow on web checkout is considerably easier, and that's primarily because you aren't navigating app storefronts for products and have a direct link to payments. And, just like with mobile, you can use your own referral entry system if you've got one to reveal web checkout links and their paywalls. Here's how it works:## Create a new campaign for your referrals. Create a campaign for your referrals. Here, you'd add the discounted product(s) you've made to a paywall that were created in Stripe. You can add in as many placements as you need. Maybe there's one for each influencer, or seasonal discount offer, etc. ## Send out Web Checkout links. Next, simply send out the [web checkout](/docs/web-checkout/web-checkout-creating-campaigns-to-show-paywalls) links to your users. You can create a link for each referral code, or you can use the same link for all of them.> **Tip:** Remember that with Superwall's web checkout feature, each placement you add becomes its own web checkout link. ## User converts. When the user clicks the link, they are taken to a web checkout page that has the discounted product you created in Stripe. They can enter their payment information and complete the purchase.And that's it! It's a matter of creating discounted products in Stripe, using them in a campaign, and then sending out the web checkout links to your users. You'll see all of the details in your campaign that you built for referrals, just like you would any other campaign, so you can track conversions, trial starts, and more.